4:00 - 4:45 PM
Events with a red asterisk* contain mature themes and content that may not be suitable for younger audience members.
*OneiRomantics | feat. Angela Chaidez Vincent, sami h. tripp, Melinda Madeiros, and Virginia Barnes
Meditate with us on divining, wool-gathering, and loving in a deeply unserious world. From nightmare fuel to teacups to the importance of dreams in making the world even a little bit better, we'll attempt to tap into the absurdity of being. Embrace the chaos that comes from having tender hearts and overactive imaginations. Bookish (520 W. Olive Avenue)
The Four Horticulturists of the Apocalypse | feat. Venita Blackburn, Steven Church, Mai Der Vang, and Brenna Womer
Four friends and colleagues in the MFA Program at Fresno state will share their efforts to cultivate art (and maybe even plants) in the face of the coming apocalypse, or at least in the face of reason as they reckon with the realities of life in Fresno, America. Broadway Parque (940 N. Broadway Street)
Where I Belong: How personal geography informs writing across genres | feat. Preeti Vangani, Rowena Leong Singer, Elizabeth Svoboda, and Sabina Khan-Ibarra
What do we mean when we say writing has “a sense of place”? Join writers Preeti Vangani, Rowena Leong Singer, Sabina Khan Ibarra and Elizabeth Svoboda for a reading that explores how place contributes to identity and narrative in their works. From Mumbai to American suburbs and the cities of childhood, these multi-genre writers create richly layered landscapes that bring the past into the present. Following the reading, the writers will discuss their understanding of the “sense of place” and how it develops in their work. Tower Yoga Lotus Room (626 E. Olive Avenue)
*The Ties That Bind | feat. Vanessa Espino, Louise Kantro, Linda Scheller, and Jesse Wolfe
Four multi-genre writers examine a variety of human connections in poetry selected from their publications and manuscripts-in-progress. Speakers and other figures drawn from history, the writers’ personal experiences, and imagination express hopes and disappointments both universal and specific to their time and place in poems that navigate love, alienation, support, conflict, and change. Hart's Haven Used Bookstore (950 N. Van Ness Avenue)
*Autonomous Wonder: Reflective Prose, Poetry and Essays of Interpersonal Healing and Exploration | feat. Seemah Umat, Chelsea Jones, Monica Arreola-Camacho, and Sara Rayann
What we cannot accept within ourselves we must honor with change. Our group will be reading personal essays, prose, and poetry exploring grief, loss, queerness, love, mental health, spirituality, and self-understanding. What does it mean to fall through the cracks of society? What’s it like to be an outcast? What is it like to love the darkest parts of yourself and to shine a light on your heartache? Healing comes through self understanding and self reflection. Who are you in your story? These are a the topic our group will be exploring. Teazer World Tea Market (645 E. Olive Avenue)
*Wordplay | feat. Jacob Byron Selway, Andrew Lackey, Alexandria Bibler, and Raúl Rivera
Where does meaning come from? How do writers shape meaning out of language? How can we play with words? These four young and accomplished writers attempt to engage with these questions. Their writing explores the concept of looking deeply at our world in order to construct some kind of meaning out of language. Through language, we can explore our identities, our relationships, and our place in the world. Spectrum Art Gallery (608 E. Olive Avenue)
*In order of readers . . . | feat. Xyo Tompkins, Salvador Mendoza, Eddie "The Okay," and Brisa
Xyo Tompkins will read “various poems I've written on emotional conflicts with ADHD, relief from personal trauma, and more, as well as an excerpt from multi-page personal philosophy papers.” Salvador Mendoza will read two poems that center on processing feelings of isolation and social withdrawal, and learning to value oneself in that solitude. Eddie “The Okay” plans “to read my diary entries about appreciating my brother, getting over a failed relationship, and understanding ‘The Summer of Death’. Brisa will read “a long poem that never saw the light of day, intended for local community zine Where the Shade Runs Thin about reflecting on Fresno. Goldstein's Mortuary & Delicatessen (1279 N. Wishon Avenue) 21+ older only